


with simple demands

by sacrosanct (Fractusfortis)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dating, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gift Giving, The Brjeaus, Very slight future fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28584243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fractusfortis/pseuds/sacrosanct
Summary: “I feel like this shouldn’t be this hard. I think we might be overthinking it”, Fjord says as they turn away from another store display and continue down the street.“Dude, you are definitely overthinking it. This should be easy for you. Jester loves everything.”, Beau replies before taking the final bite of her last fish taco.“That’s exactly the problem! Too many choices.”Beau crumples up the taco wrapper and motions to toss it into a nearby trash receptacle. Fjord attempts to swat it away, but she changes course at the last moment and throws it straight in with a smirk and a subsequent eye-roll from the half-orc. “I would take that problem right about now. Yasha is ... Well, she doesn’t even really know what she likes, you know? How am I supposed to find her something nice? Ugh. I’m not good at this shit. Why did we even decide to do this?”OrThe Brjeaus have dates tonight.
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett/Yasha, Fjord & Beauregard Lionett, Fjord/Jester Lavorre, Jester Lavorre & Yasha
Comments: 12
Kudos: 214





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be short, but it really got away from me.

It was hot in Nicodranas, blistering, even. But instead of finding it oppressive, Beau relishes the heat, welcomes it after those long weeks in frozen Eiselcross. Though, she thinks after running a hand across the back of her sweaty neck, she will have to hit up a bathhouse before returning to the Chateau. That is, if they _ever_ make it back to the Chateau, which, at this point, is seeming less and less likely.

Beau and Fjord had embarked on their mission first thing on their first full day back after arriving late the previous night from the frigid north. They had spent the whole morning walking through and perusing the shops in the Opal Archways but came up empty before deciding to break for lunch. Then they’d headed back bellies full and morale boosted, turning down new streets, peering in different shop windows, hoping to find their mark.

“I feel like this shouldn’t be this hard. I think we might be overthinking it”, Fjord says as they turn away from another store display and continue down the street.

“Dude, you are definitely overthinking it. This should be easy for you. Jester loves everything,” Beau replies before taking the final bite of her last fish taco.

“That’s exactly the problem! Too many choices.”

Beau crumples up the taco wrapper and motions to toss it into a nearby trash receptacle. Fjord attempts to swat it away, but she changes course at the last moment and throws it straight in with a smirk and a subsequent eye-roll from the half-orc. “I would take that problem right about now. Yasha is ... Well, she doesn’t even really know what she likes, you know? How am I supposed to find her something nice? Ugh. I’m not good at this shit. Why did we even decide to do this?”

“Because we both have dates tonight with amazing women we care deeply for and we want to do something nice for them after a really tough few weeks. Now come on, first mate, let’s keep going”, Fjord answers with a clasp of a hand on her shoulder, leading them further down the street, Beau following along with a grumble.

They come to a stop at the next store window and look at the display. Beau looks up at the scantily clad mannequin behind the glass and quickly realizes this is a lingerie shop. Before she can stop herself she imagines Yasha wearing that black lacy, strappy, _tiny_ thing and immediately feels half the blood in her body rush to set her cheeks on fire with a blush and the other half rushing to, well, other places. She snaps herself out of it and looks over at Fjord, who, by the looks of the darker green hue on his face, made a similar imaginative mistake.

Fjord clears his throat before saying, “I think, uh, this kind of thing is perhaps a bit too soon for Jester and I.”

“Yeah. Same.”, Beau agrees and hurriedly starts down towards the next shop.

“Wait”, Fjord says, breaking into a slight jog to catch up, “You and Yasha haven’t ...”, he makes a whistling sort of noise accompanied by an indecipherable hand motion, “I’d have guessed you two would’ve jumped each other’s bones by now. Multiple times.”

“No, we haven’t ...”, she whistles and tries to replicate his hand motion but gives up halfway through and flips him off instead, “We’ve had one date! And I’m trying to do this the right way!” Fjord just looks at her, eyebrows raised and a small, smug smile playing on his lips. “Is that so hard to believe? I can be chivalrous and shit.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Fjord says, holding his hands up in mock surrender, “I think it’s nice. Very healthy of you.”

“Thank you. Now come on, we’ve only got a few more hours til we have to be back”, Beau states and leads them to the next store down the way.

* * *

They try for a little over an hour without much success on the gift front. They do however, find success for themselves at a tailor’s shop; both Beau and Fjord each finding a sharp new suit for the night’s events. Beau takes particular pleasure in imagining her father’s enraged face if he were to see her in her new sleek navy three-piece. They eventually decide, in their desperation, to split up and try their luck on their own, then agree to meet back up at the bathhouse.

Beau finds herself wandering into a strange little hole in the wall shop a bit out of the way from the main drag of street, its purpose not immediately apparent from the outside. She opens the small wooden door and is greeted with the sight of hundreds of rocks and gems lining shelves from floor to ceiling and filling glass cases to the brim. Some stones are rough and raw, others pristinely cut and set into unique pieces of jewelry. She steps a bit deeper into the store and notices a finely dressed gnomish man behind the counter busy with a stack of paperwork, and next to him a medium sized automaton. The bronze construct is working furiously on a small piece in front of it; on one of its arms a rounded polishing stone is connected where a hand would be, and on the other a very small kind of engraving tool.

“Ah!”, says the gnome when he looks up from his papers and sees Beau, “Forgive me! And welcome! Is there something in particular I can help you find?

“Um”, Beau can barely respond before the shopkeep continues.

“Are you looking for yourself? Or for someone else? Someone special, perhaps?”

“Yes”, Beau responds, “For someone ... someone special.”

“Oh, how wonderful! Now, what types of wares would your someone special be interested in? I stock all kinds, as you can probably tell”, he boasts and holds his arms out, gesturing to the glittering stock around him.

“She, um ... I don’t know. I thought I’d know it when I see it”, Beau says as she walks by a few jewelers cases, considering the vast array of rings and necklaces and bracelets before her, “Your jewelry is very nice, but ...”, she trails off, and once again her eyes fall on the automaton, who has finished three new pieces since they began the conversation. “What does it do?”, Beau asks, nodding towards the machine.

“Oh! Rosie here helps me with the polishing and engraving for custom pieces. She can get through them easily ten times faster than a living artist could. And with incredible precision!”, the gnome tells her and pats the construct on its shoulder.

Beau is then suddenly struck with an idea. She slams her pack onto the counter and begins breathlessly rooting around.

“Um, miss ...?”, the shopkeeper starts to question right as Beau wraps her fingers around her target.

“Ah-ha!”, she exclaims and procures a small stone from her bag. The stone is black and smooth, just a bit smaller than a gold piece and almost as perfectly round, with silvery white veins webbing all across it. “How much would it cost to polish this, engrave it, set it in a necklace, and wrap it in a nice box or something?”

“Well,”, he begins as he takes the stone from Beau’s hands to examine it, “I’d say ... 25 gold total.”

“Great”, she agrees and takes out her coin purse, already counting out the payment, “And how much to jump it to the head of the line? Get it done right now?”

“Oh well, that would be another ... 50 gold pieces”

“Deal. Let’s do it”, she says and places the coins on the countertop.

“Okay, then”, says the gnome, seemingly a bit startled that she agreed to the price so easily, “What would you like the engraving to be? Then we can discuss hardware for the necklace.”

“Could you do just like, a single feather on one side? Nothing fancy, just a simple drawing.”

“Absolutely. Rosie will get to work right away”, and he slides the stone over to the automaton, who immediately sets to work on polishing. Beau and the shopkeep then decide on a silver chain and set for the stone. It takes not even twenty minutes before the necklace is finished and wrapped in a small pouch and Beau is stepping back out onto the street with a spring in her step, feeling great about her purchase.

With gift firmly in hand and anxieties soothed for the time being, Beau makes her way towards the Opal Archways bathhouse to meet back up with Fjord. She walks through the busy Nicodranian streets before coming up on the grandiose building that housed the baths. The opulent structure was the kind of establishment the Nein couldn’t even think about affording when they first started out on their journey together.

* * *

She sees Fjord already waiting for her on the steps, sitting and absentmindedly picking at his now well grown in tusks, and a small bag resting next to him in addition to his new suit’s bag. She only hopes he got as lucky as she did on his gift hunt.

“Hey man,”, Beau greets while jogging up to him, “Did you find something good?”. She gestures at the blue bag.

“I did, actually. I came across this tiefling woman with a cart stand off one of the main roads. She had a bunch of horn jewelry and trinkets for sale, so I picked one out for Jester. You know, since they kind of grew all of a sudden.”, Fjord answers proudly and pulls the box holding the chain out of its bag to show her.

Beau takes it in her hands and examines the piece. It features fancy golden horn caps with two tiny gems dangling from a matching golden chain — a single ruby and sapphire. “Nice, dude. She’ll love it.” Beau hands it back and Fjord carefully slides it back into its box.

“I hope so. What about you? I see you found something as well”, he asks, looking at the pouch in Beau’s hand.

“Oh, yeah. I did.”

“And? What is it?”

“Um. It’s a necklace.”

“Just like a general necklace?”, he prods skeptically.

“No. It’s ... it’s special. I got it engraved and stuff.” Beau feels a blush rising on her cheeks and isn’t able to exactly pinpoint the reason for her embarrassment.

“Special, eh? You gonna tell me about it or is it a secret? ‘For Yasha’s eyes only’ type of thing?”, Fjord teases in that obnoxious big brother kind of way he’s prone to do.

“It’s not ... ugh. It’s not a secret. I’ll tell you after I give it to her. I just don’t want to jinx it or anything,” Beau explains and hopes it’s enough for him to drop the issue.

“Okay.” Fjord seems satisfied enough. “Well then. Let’s go in. We should have just enough time to bathe and get changed and make it back to the Chateau before dark”, he says as he stands up and gathers his things.

“Yeah”, Beau agrees and falls into step with Fjord. “Hey, do you think they have someone who can cut hair here? It’s been so long I’m not sure my undercut qualifies as an undercut anymore.”

Fjord reaches over and scruffs up the hair on the back of her head, testing her theory. Beau whacks his arm away in response. “Yeah, they probably do. It’s like an all-inclusive spa or some shit like that. I could use a shave myself,” he says as he scratches his beard.

“Yeah, it’s looking a little scraggily there captain, no offense”, she says as they reach large double doors of the building. “It’s hard to believe we’d be going to places like this from where we started out together”, Beau muses as she opens the gold plated door handle and walks inside.

“You’re telling me. That poor little orphan boy back in Port Damali couldn’t even imagine ...”, Fjord says as they approach the service counter situated in the middle of the large foyer. The room is circular, with two hallways breaking off from either side and some kind of lounge area can be seen behind the counter. A halfling man sits behind the counter and watches their approach with a perfunctory, yet amiable smile.

“Greetings,” the man says as they come closer, “How may I be of service this afternoon?”

“Hello”, Fjord says, stepping forward to place his hand on the counter as he speaks, “We’d like to book a bath — private rooms?”, he looks questioningly towards Beau, who nods in agreement, before continuing, “Yes, private rooms. We shouldn’t need more than an hour.”

“Very well, sir”, the halfling replies and shifts through the appointment book in front of him. “We do have private rooms especially for couples available”, the concierge begins the pitch before being interrupted loudly by Beau.

“Absolutely fucking no—

“Ah, what my friend means to say is that that won’t be necessary, thank you. Two _separate_ private rooms will do just fine.”, Fjord steps in and assuages charmingly and the concierge nods.

“Excellent. Two private rooms, one hour ... that will be five gold apiece”, Fjord and Beau slide their coins across the counter, “And the staff will show you to your rooms. Enjoy your stay.” And just like that two staff members appear, a human male and half-elf female, towels and robes in hand. The woman guides Beau down one hallway, presumably towards the women’s baths, and the man guides Fjord down the other.

“Meet you in the front after”, Beau calls over her shoulder and Fjord raises a thumbs up in acknowledgement. She inquires about a barber with the staff woman, subconsciously rubbing her hand through her very scruffy undercut and learns there’s a hairdresser in the salon at the end of the hall.

* * *

Beau decides on the haircut first and leaves her things in her room before heading to the salon. She gets a close shave, one that’ll last a good while if necessary. Though, she thinks as she sits in the hairdresser’s chair, maybe it won’t be necessary, maybe this is something Yasha will do for her. She’s thought about asking before — Yasha’s always been happy to give a shave to any of the Nein who’ve asked — but there would be a certain closeness, an intimacy, that Beau wasn’t sure she could handle.

After she’s finished at the salon, Beau heads back to her room, feeling cleaner already just from the fresh shave. She steps in and locks the door behind her. She strips naked and kicks her clothes over near her bags in the dressing area, and submerges into the sunken pool of steaming hot water. The water feels and incredible and smells even better; it’s been infused with a floral scent that Beau can’t quite place. She thinks that Yasha would like it and hopes her skin absorbs enough for her to be able to smell it later.

Beau soaks for about ten minutes — far less than she normally would, but there’s no way she’s going to be late tonight — before giving her body a routine wash, then climbing out of the bath to begin drying and dressing. She stands in front of the ornate floor length mirror as she pulls on her new suit. Beau knows that she’s a fairly good looking woman, but damn if she doesn’t look hot as fuck in this suit. It’s slim fitting and navy, with gold buttons on the jacket and waistcoat. She leaves the top three buttons of her white shirt undone. She preens for a bit, models different poses and flexes, and maybe tries a few pick up lines on her reflection (though she would absolutely never admit to that, if anyone were to ask).

When she’s satisfied, Beau leaves the room after placing a gold piece on the stool as a tip for the cleaning staff, and practically struts down the hallway back towards the lobby, necklace tucked away safely in the inner pocket of her jacket. As she enters the foyer, she sees Fjord walking down the opposite hallway, a similar spring in his step. He’s in a simple black suit, a little more casual and a lot less nautical than his other formal wear, with a black shirt underneath. His beard’s been trimmed and it looks like he’s styled his hair just slightly.

Any other day, Beau would give her normally looks apathetic pal some friendly ribbing over his so obviously cared for appearance, but she knows probably better than anyone that right now he could use all the confidence he can get. “Damn, captain! Cleaned up pretty well!”, she exclaims as the converge by the doors.

“Not so bad yourself, first mate. Blue really is your color”, he returns and wraps his arm around her shoulder, she winds her arm around his in kind, “Now let’s go sweep those ladies off their feet, shall we?” Beau and Fjord walk out into the Nicodranian streets, sun just starting to set above them, and make their way towards The Lavish Chateau.

* * *

It’s nearly dark outside as the step into the grand lobby of the Chateau. Both couples had arranged to meet downstairs, but neither Jester nor Yasha is in sight when Fjord and Beau arrive.

“I guess we should just sit down?”, Fjord suggests. The two take a seat at a vacant table. Most of the tables are empty, as it’s still early evening, but there is a steady stream of patrons filing through the doors as the minutes tick on. It isn’t very long before Nadine, one of Marion’s personal servants, arrives to inform them that their dates are still upstairs getting ready and will be a few more minutes.

“I guess beauty takes its time”, Fjord says before asking, “What are you and Yasha doing tonight, anyway? I don’t think I ever asked.”

“Oh, I found this restaurant down by the water. You know the kind that has those tiny little tables with candles? Real romantic shit. I’m not really sure what they serve there, but Yasha has never seemed all that discerning about what she eats. After that I thought maybe we could take a walk on the beach.”

“Oh-ho! A candlelit dinner followed by a moonlit walk on the shore? Someone is trying to get lucky tonight”, Fjord playfully responds. Beau flicks him behind his ear. He groans and dramatically rubs the side of his head. At least, Beau hopes he’s just being dramatic, but she’s never quite sure with Fjord. He is honestly still kind of a giant wimp about physical stuff, despite her best efforts.

“Shut up. What about you and Jester? What are you guys doing?”, Beau asks, deflecting the attention back onto her friend.

“I noticed a flyer advertising this crazy traveling bard troupe performing at a theatre across the district. It’s a concert. Or a puppet show. I’m not really sure. Half the flyer was in gnomish? Maybe halfling. But it seems totally batshit. She’ll love it.”

Beau laughs. “Yeah, that checks out. I think ...”, she starts before she catches sight of two figures descending down the staircase over Fjord’s shoulder. Evidently, their dates had spent the afternoon shopping for new outfits as well. Jester looks lovely in her bouncy deep purple dress and matching shoes, but Beau can’t tear her eyes away from Yasha. She’s wearing a flowing shimmery silver dress that stops around her knees, with a deep V that plunges down her chest, the fabric hugging every curve and slope of her body beautifully.

Beau doesn’t even realize Fjord has gotten up from their table until she sees him greeting Jester at the bottom of the stairs, the little tiefling rising on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. She then sees Yasha making her way towards the table and she stands up quickly.

“Uh. Hi”, Beau says when Yasha reaches her. “You look ... wow. Beautiful. So beautiful.” Beau really hopes she isn’t actually drooling and she subtly brings a hand up to the corner of her mouth, just to make sure.

“Thank you, Beau”, Yasha replies shyly, “You do as well. I, uh, I really like you in a suit. I was hoping you’d wear one actually— Not because I wanted to ogle you or anything! Well, not _just_ that. I mean that I was hoping you’d wear one because I got you this”, Yasha holds up a single cornflower that Beau failed to notice she was even holding, a rich vibrant blue and freshly picked, “I thought you could wear it on your lapel.” She takes a step closer, holding the flower out, but waiting for Beau’s permission to continue.

“Yeah, yeah. That’d be great. Go ahead.” Yasha tucks the flower into Beau’s suit jacket, so close now, and Beau looks up at her as she works, watches the way her eyelids flutter, they way her lips purse every so slightly. Gods, Beau wants to kiss her, but they’ve only done it once before and they’re standing in a rapidly crowding room and Beau is unsure of how Yasha would take the PDA.

“There. All done”, Yasha says as she finishes. Beau opens her mouth to thank her but is interrupting by Fjord and Jester passing by.

“We’re heading out now. You kids have fun”, Fjord says, Jester beaming on his arm.

“You too”, Beau calls back, still a little breathless. She notices Jester makes eye contact with Yasha, waggling her brows and flashing her an impish grin. Yasha flushes a bit and Beau makes a mental note to ask her about that exchange later.

Beau waits until she sees the doors close behind the exiting pair before pulling out the pouch in her suit pocket. She weighs it back and forth in her hands before beginning to explain, “I, uh, actually got you something too”, she pulls the necklace from the bag, holding it flat in her palm, “It’s a necklace. Obviously. But the pendant, it’s a rock from ... Okay. Remember the time on Rumblecusp when you and me went flying? Of course you do, you were the one that sprouted literal wings and flew. Fuck.” Beau takes a breath, calming herself. “I didn’t notice until later that night, but this little rock had somehow found its way into my pocket after we crashed into the pools on top of the waterfall. I’d just been keeping it in my pack, but I realized it would be better with you. So I got it cleaned up and had this little feather engraved on it”, she holds out the pendant so Yasha can see. “Anyway. I hope you don’t think it’s stupid or anything. And I know it’s just a dumb rock but ...”

“Beau”, Yasha interrupts her, her eyes a just a little watery. “It’s ... I love it. It’s incredible. You’re incredible.” She takes the necklace from Beau’s hands, runs her thumb over the engraving. “Will you .. will you put it on me?”

“Of course.” If Beau wasn’t breathless before, she is now as she takes the necklace back from Yasha and watches her turn around, pulling all her hair over one shoulder. Beau steps closer and wraps the necklace around Yasha, fastening the clasp closed with slightly shaky hands. Without thinking and without resistance, Beau presses a light kiss to the base of Yasha’s neck, right above her shoulder blades. When the realization of her action hits her, she jumps back like she’s been electrocuted. “Sorry! That was ... Shit. I’m sorry.”

Yasha spins back around and grasps both of Beau’s hands in hers. “Beau, it’s okay. I liked it.”

Beau exhales. “Okay. I just wasn’t sure with ... we’re in public and ...”

“I know. We’ve got all night to talk about that stuff”, Yasha reassures her and drops one of her hands, keep the other firmly tangled with hers. “Speaking of which, shouldn’t we be ...”, she gestures towards the door.

“Yeah! Yeah, let’s go”, Beau says and leads them hand and hand out into the streets of Nicodranas.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not initially intend for there to be a second chapter to this story but the latest episode changed my mind. The double dome conversations just really made me want to write a companion piece for the planetouched pals (yes I just made that up).

It’s hot despite the early hour in Nicodranas. The sun glints off the colorful rooftops, a promise of the even hotter day to come. Yasha enjoys the warm breeze coming off the sea as she sits on her room’s balcony and picks at the remnants of her once plentiful breakfast.

A knock comes, several quick raps on the heavy wooden door. “Yasha? You still sleeping?”, Jester’s cheery voice calls from out in the hallway. The door then sweeps open, the tiefling immediately defeating the purpose of her previous knock. “Sorry if you’re naked or anything but I just had the _best_ idea.” Jester barrels into the room, bursting with enthusiasm.

“Good morning, Jester”, Yasha replies from her place on the balcony, “I was just having breakfast, you know, enjoying the view.”

“Oh good”, Jester says and steps out onto the balcony. She sits right down in the vacant chair next to Yasha and plops one of the remaining strawberries into her mouth.

“So what was your idea?”, Yasha inquiries curiously.

“Okay, okay, okay. So earlier this morning I ran into Fjord on his way out. So I asked him where he was going, you know? He didn’t want to tell me at first and he got, like, super embarrassed. Then he eventually just told me he and Beau were going to ‘get some things’ and have ‘captain and first mate time’.” Jester trails off into a surprisingly good Fjord impression, all things considered. “He didn’t say it exactly, but I could tell it was about our dates tonight.”

“Oh?”, Yasha prods, interest further piqued at the mention of Beau’s name.

“So I thought me and you could, like, do the same thing sort of? Have a girls day!” Jester is so excited she shoots back up and leans against the balcony railing.

“A... girls day?”

“Yeah! It’s when you spend a day with your friend getting pampered, trying on pretty clothes and jewelry, talking about boys — or girls!”, Jester corrects before breathlessly continuing, “My momma’s dressmaker is coming today and she always brings lots and lots of pretty clothes. We can find stuff to wear for tonight!”

Yasha feels warmth bloom in her chest, still not quite used to being so enthusiastically included in things like this. “Okay”, she smiles at Jester before continuing, “That sounds great. I think I’d like to find a new dress. Not that I don’t like the one you picked out for me! It’s great. It’s just... I’d like to show Beau something different tonight, you know?” She feels a faint blush rise on her cheeks.

“Yes! Ohmygosh, Yasha, we are gonna find you a dress so beautiful and sexy, Beau is not gonna know what to do with herself!” Yasha feels the blush deepen and she ducks her head sheepishly, hiding her face behind a long lock of hair. “Come on then!”, Jester says, stepping closer to her, “Let’s go!”

“Oh. We’re starting right now?”, Yasha replies, confused, as Jester grabs her hands and beings pulling her up.

“Yes, right now! There’s no time to waste, we have so much to do!” Jester’s got Yasha on her feet and begins pulling her towards the door.

“Alright”, Yasha says and lets the little tiefling lead her down the hallway.

* * *

Jester flings open the double doors to Marion’s suite. Yasha is surprised to find racks of clothes already set up along one end of the bedroom, and a human woman sitting beside them, sketching something in a journal. The woman looks to be in her late 40’s, with stick straight blonde hair cut to her chin. She wears small half-moon spectacles and a stylish casual dress of deep green, each hand adorned with several glittering rings.

“Okay, full disclosure,” says Jester as they step into the room, “I already set everything up with momma before I asked you. I was just so sure you were gonna say yes!” The woman stands up from her chair, straightening out the creases in her dress. “This is my momma’s personal dressmaker, Vevia. Vevia, this is Yasha, one of my very best friends.” Jester introduces Yasha to the woman, who in turn steps forward and ducks her head in a respectful bow of acknowledgment.

“Hello,” Yasha greets and opens her hand in a little wave.

“So Vevia,” Jester begins as she flops belly-first onto the mattress, “Did momma tell you why we need new dresses? We both have _dates_ tonight.” She waggles her eyebrows up at the woman. Yasha, meanwhile, takes a seat on the bench at the foot of the bed.

“Yes, Jester. Marion informed me. Congratulations, by the way.” The woman’s words are a bit terse, but Yasha can tell there is genuine affection for Jester underneath it. “Now, as I am already quite familiar with your clothing preferences, I’ve already prepared a rack of suitable choices for you.” Vevia motions towards one of the racks and Jester quickly bounces over with an excited little noise. “And for you, Yasha, Marion told me a little bit about you and your physical description. I tried my best to give you a wide variety of options to choose from based on the information she gave.” She motions towards the rack next to Jester’s.

“Oh. That is... That is very nice. Thank you.” Yasha begins to move over towards the hanger.

“I’m sure she brought you something amazing, Yasha”, Jester says, already pulling and examining pieces from her rack. “Vevia is the best in all of Nicodranas. That’s why my momma works with her.”

“Jester...”, Vevia lightly admonishes, “You know I hold humility in the highest regard.”

“It’s true though!”, Jester returns as Yasha listens, quietly enjoying the pair’s familiar rapport. She begins looking through the clothes, running her hands along the fabric. All the pieces are neutral tones, blacks, whites, grays, silvers, so... Marion hit the nail on the head with that one. Yasha pulls a black dress from the rack and holds it up. She likes it, but decides it’s too similar to her previous one. She examines a pair of white dresses. She really likes the cut of one and the material of the other, but isn’t sure how they would look with her now almost completely white hair. Too monochrome, she thinks.

Yasha looks through the rack for a while, giving every piece its due diligence, but her eye keeps catching on a shimmering silver dress at the end of the rack. She’d immediately dismissed it when she saw it, thinking it was too loud and flashy for her. She hadn’t even really pulled off the hanger to get a closer look. She finds herself almost unconsciously reaching for it. Yasha pulls it off the hanger and drapes it against her body, marveling at the way the sparkling threads catch the sunlight from the window.

“Now that is one of my favorite pieces”, Vevia says, looking up from her sketchbook, “I was sincerely hoping you would take an interest. You should try it on.”

Jester, who by now has tried on quite a few pieces, and is currently standing half-clothed with a dress around her waist and several more puddled on the ground around her, also takes an interest. “Oh please do it, Yasha! That one is _so_ pretty.”

“Okay,” Yasha agrees, encouraged by Jester. She strips off her tunic and linen pants and slips the dress on over her head. She’s a little surprised it fits her at all — she’s not exactly an average sized woman — but Jester did say Vevia was the best. She steps over to the full length mirror, enjoying the way the smooth material feels against her skin.

Yasha stares at her reflection. She’s never worn anything like this before. The image should feel unfamiliar, but it doesn’t. It feels right, comfortable. Pretty. Yasha feels excited butterflies bubble in the pit of her stomach. The dress is loose, flows like water over her body. Sleeveless, it stops at the knees, a bit shorter in the front, and has a deep V cut down the chest, showing a generous amount of cleavage that she’s sure Beau will appreciate.

“Wow. Stunning.” Yasha watches Vevia’s reflection appear next to her in the mirror. “Almost a tailored fit, even. We’ll just have to bring it in a little here...” Vevia trails off as she begins cinching and pinning the fabric, fitting it to Yasha’s exact measurements. “There.” The dressmaker steps back and admires her handiwork.

“Oh my gosh, Yasha, you look so, so beautiful!” Jester’s reflection appears on the other side of Yasha’s. “You _have_ to get this one.”

Yasha turns back and forth a bit, inspecting, but her mind is already made up. “Yeah. I think I will. Thank you, Vevia. This really is so gorgeous.”

Vevia dismisses the compliment with a flick of the wrist. “Please remove it carefully so I can make the proper adjustments.”

“What about this one for me? Do you guys like it?” Jester steps a little closer to the mirror and Yasha moves to the side to let her center herself. Jester has on rich purple number; sleeveless, like Yasha’s, with chiffon over the shoulders and a skirt that poofs out in a hundred playful frills. She bounces up and down on her toes, demonstrating the movement of the fabric.

“It’s lovely, Jester. So very you.” Jester giggles at Yasha’s compliment.

Vevia steps in and examines the fit on Jester. “I was fairly certain I had your measurements right, but it seems you’ve gotten a little stronger on your travels. I’d best let the shoulders out a bit. Chiffon isn’t exactly the most forgiving material.” Jester flexes jokingly in the mirror and Vevian tuts. “What did I just say? Now ladies, please undress. I will take your pieces back to my shop for tailoring and have them back within a few hours.”

“Vevia, you can _not_ be late, okay? We have to have the dresses in time for our dates tonight!”, Jester pleads as she beings to carefully remove her dress.

“Rest assured, Jester, I have never once made a delivery in an untimely fashion for the Ruby of the Sea and I do not intend to start with her little sapphire,” Vevia soothes with a pat on Jester’s cheek. Satisfied, Jester finishes pulling off her dress and places it in Vevia’s waiting arms. Yasha takes a little longer, having to navigate the numerous pins, but eventually does the same. Vevia briskly leaves the room with further assurances of a timely delivery.

When she’s gone, Jester flops back down on the bed with a content huff. After she finishes putting her clothes back on, Yasha moves back to the racks, beginning to peruse the large selection of what she assumes are Marion’s potential new outfits.

“Isn’t getting new clothes the best?”, Jester asks dreamily while staring up at the canopy above her mother’s bed.

“It’s funny”, Yasha muses as she thumbs through the clothes on the rack, “Beauty, pretty clothes, stuff like this... It wasn’t something we cared about in my tribe. I never really thought about it too much. I mean, Zuala would tell me I was beautiful, but we were married. You’re supposed to find your wife attractive. Being pretty on purpose, just because? We just didn’t place any importance on it.” Jester turns over and props her chin up on her forearms as she listens to Yasha. “But now that I’ve gotten to experience this kind of thing... I think I really like it. And not just to do it for other people. Like, I like the way Beau looks at me when I’ve gotten all pretty, but I don’t want to do it for her. I want to do it for me, because it makes me feel more like... me. If that makes sense.”

“It’s self-expression”, Jester suggests softly from her place on the bed.

“Yeah. Yeah, exactly. That’s a good term for it. Self-expression has never really been something I’ve been able or allowed to explore.”

“That’s sad, Yasha. I’m glad you get to explore it now.”

“Me too”, Yasha agrees and glances back at Jester, meeting her eyes with a smile. She continues looking through the racks until she comes one filled only with very small pieces made of lace and other sheer materials. She pulls one out to examine.

“Oh, did you want to get some lingerie, too?”, Jester asks, voice lowered an octave, and grinning mischievously.

“Oh! I... don’t...”, Yasha stutters and drops the lacy bodysuit like it's on fire before Jester interrupts.

“Have you and Beau had sex yet?”

“Uh, no. We talked about it, pace and all that, and we decided to go slow with the physical stuff.” Jester just hums in acknowledgment. Yasha looks back at her friend’s uncharacteristic silence and appraises her expression. Realization dawns. “Is this something you’re thinking about? With Fjord, I mean?”, she asks gently and comes to sit next to Jester on the bed.

“Kind of. I don’t think me and Fjord are there yet either, you know? But... My momma has always been very open about sex,” Jester gestures around the room, “Obviously. So I know a lot about it. But it’s different when you might _actually_ do it. I just always thought it would feel like, I don’t know, less of a big deal when it happened to me.”

“It’s normal to be nervous, Jester.”

“Really?”

“Really. First times are never perfect. You just have to talk to him, make sure you’re both comfortable, and you’ll figure it out as you go,” Yasha says and then adds suggestively, “That part can be pretty fun, in my experience.”

“Yasha!”, Jester gasps at Yasha’s forwardness and gives her a playful swat on the arm, both of them falling into a fit of giggles. “Are you nervous? About doing it with Beau?”, Jester asks after they’ve quieted down.

“Yes. Very. I want to, a lot, and I know she does too. I mean, we’ve been teasing each other since probably the moment we met. It’s just been a very long time for me. And I know Beau has... a history with a lot of other women. I sometimes worry about my, uh, performance.” Yasha looks towards the ground and hopes Jester gets what she means.

“I’m sure Beau doesn’t care about any of that.” Jester grabs her hand with a reassuring pat. “And if she’s shitty to you at all, Yasha, I’ll beat her up. I don’t care that she’s my friend. I’m a lot stronger than her, you know?”

Yasha laughs heartily at that (she’s _pretty_ sure Jester’s just joking) and leans in closer. “Same goes for Fjord. Just say the word. I’ll kick his ass.”

Jester throws her arms around Yasha’s neck and pulls her into a hug. “Thank you, Yasha. You give the best advice about this sort of thing.”

“I don’t know abou—

“No arguments! It’s true!” They hold the hug for a long moment before Jester breaks it off to say, “Are you hungry? Because I am _so_ hungry.”

“Yeah, starving.”

* * *

Jester leads them down to the kitchens where she has one of the chefs prepare them a picnic lunch to take down to the beach. They set up maybe fifty yards from the water; the tide is low and the sky cloudless. They eat slowly, taking time to enjoy the heat and the breeze and the calm – all things that had been hard to come by in weeks previous. Eventually their shadows grow long as the day ripens into late afternoon and they decide to head back to begin preparations for the evening.

Yasha listens as Jester skips beside her while detailing, very thoroughly, a new idea for a tarot card she has planned. As they travel the familiar cobblestone roads back to The Lavish Chateau, she can’t help but think of Beau; where she is, what she’s doing, if she’s thinking of her too. It makes Yasha feel silly and girlish and _happy_. She catches herself smiling, an increasingly common occurrence these days.

“Yasha!” Jester pops into her field of view. “Are you even listening? Or are you too busy thinking about Beau?”, Jester teases. “I see you smiling for no reason over here.” A blue finger comes up and pokes her cheek.

“I’m sorry, Jester. I’m just excited for tonight, I guess.” Yasha gives an apologetic shrug of her shoulders.

Jester sighs dramatically and links their arms together. “Me too. Did Beau tell you what you guys are doing? Fjord wouldn’t tell me. He wanted it to be a surprise.”

“All I know is we’re going to a restaurant. I don’t know where or what kind or anything. I trust her, though. Beau knows way more about this stuff than me.” They continue to walk, arms locked, up the winding streets until Jester notices a colorful cart filled to bursting with trinkets for sale and she veers them off course towards it.

“Look at all this cool stuff!” Jester walks right up, wide-eyed, and begins browsing the wares. Yasha follows behind and takes a look herself. She’s pretty sure most people would consider the items for sale junk; it’s mostly handmade jewelry made from sea glass and shells, small talismans carved from driftwood, a few rudimentary paintings of sunsets and shorelines done on planks of wood that probably washed ashore. But Jester can find the beauty in anything and she eagerly takes everything in with bright enthusiasm.

Yasha then notices two steel buckets on the ground adjacent to the cart, each filled with fresh cut flowers. She isn’t great with names or identification – she’s been thinking recently about asking Beau to take her to a library and help her find a book so she can learn – but the selection is robust and full of color. She picks one up. It’s small and bright blue, an explosion of dozens of tiny petals. She thinks of Beau again. Her eyes. Her brashness. Her smile. “I think I’m going to get this for Beau.”

“Oh, that’s so _romantic_ , Yasha! I should get something for Fjord!”, Jester fawns and redoubles her search effort in the box she’d been rooting through.

“How much?” Yasha tilts her head towards the human woman operating the stand. Her clothes are a little ragged and there’s a bit of dirt smudged on her face.

“Two copper”, the woman responds in accent that sounds foreign but Yasha can’t quite place it.

Yasha digs in her pouch for a moment and hands the woman a gold piece. “Keep it”, she says as the woman looks as if she’s about to argue. The Nein did not leave Eiselcross as poor folk, after all.

“And I’m gonna get these!” Jester hold her palm out to show the woman two very small scallop shells with some kind of metal hardware attached. She, too, presses a gold piece into the woman’s hand before she can even name a price.

They hurry off, not wanting to be late, leaving the now slightly stunned woman in their wake. After a short walk and an explanation of what cuff-links are to Yasha, they arrive back at the Chateau just in time to catch Vevia descending the staircase.

“Ah!”, the dressmaker says, “Fortuitous timing! Your alterations are complete and your dresses are waiting for you upstairs. I’d usually stay to check the final fit, but I have other business that needs attending. Have a wonderful night, ladies.”

“Thank you so much, Vevia”, Jester calls after the woman as she sweeps out the door. She turns to Yasha. “Come on then! Let’s go get ready!” The tiefling bounds up the stairs and Yasha has to take two at a time to keep up.

* * *

They return to Marion’s chambers where their outfits for the evening have been laid out on the bed. Jester explains that it’s better to do hair before getting dressed so they spend some time in front of the mirror in the on-suite bathroom. Jester loans Yasha some sort of cream that smooths her hair and gives it a pleasant floral aroma, then helps re-do a couple of her loose braids. Yasha watches as Jester brushes her own hair, attempting to get it to sit just right around her horns.

When the hair is all finished, they return to the bedroom to get dressed. When Yasha slides her new dress on, she finds it fits her like a glove, perfectly tailored to every inch of her body. She steps over to the mirror and preens for just a moment before she hears the door open.

“My! What beautiful women we have here!”

“Momma!” Yasha turns to see Jester throwing her arms around her mother and pulling her into a hug. “Do you like my new dress?” Jester pulls back and does a little pirouette.

“As gorgeous as ever, my little sapphire,” Marion praises her daughter, love and affection dripping off every syllable. She pulls Jester in and adjusts the fabric of the dress, straightening the shoulders just a bit. Marion’s eyes then flit back to where Yasha is standing and watching their interaction fondly. “And Yasha! Well…”, she raises an appraising eyebrow and Yasha feels her cheeks heat up (this is the Ruby of the Sea, after all. You can’t blame a girl.), “I’m not sure miss Beauregard is going to know what to do with herself.”

Yasha stammers. “Uh, thank you, Marion. It’s… yeah. Thank you.”

Marion, thankfully, finds her stumbling amusing and dismisses it with a melodic peal of a laugh. “I just came up to grab a few things before my performance. I’ll be out of your hair in just a minute,” she says as she sweeps into the bathroom.

“She’s right, though,” Jester says, “Beau is gonna pass out or something when she sees you! You look so beautiful!”

“Well that would make for a really bad date,” Yasha deadpans. “And you look so wonderful as well, Jester. Fjord is going to love it.” The door then opens again and one of Marion’s personal servants walks in.

“Pardon me, miss Jester, but I thought you should know your dates have arrived. They’re waiting downstairs.”

“Oh my gosh. Nadine can you tell them we’ll be down in a minute?” The woman nods and quickly exits, Jester calling a quick thanks after her.

Marion returns to the bedroom, a few jars in her hands, and makes to exit as well. She kisses Jester on the cheek as she walks by. “Good luck tonight, you two. Have fun. Be safe.”

“Thanks, momma.” They watch as Marion leaves the room. Jester turns to Yasha and flashes her a big toothy smile. “You ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”


End file.
